Apparatus for and method of producing relaxed packages of textured yarn



Sept. 8,, 1964 c. c. M! ALEK 7,

'APBARATUS FOR AND METH 0F PRODUCING RELAXED PACKAGES 0F TEXTURED YARNFiled July 26, 1963 INVENTOR. CHARLES: C. MICHALEK ATTORNEKS UnitedStates Patent APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF PRODUCING RELAXED PACKAGES 0FTEXTURED YARN Charles C. Michalek, Nanticoke, Pa, assiguor to The DuplanCorporation, Winston-Salem, N.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed July26, 1963, Ser. No. 297,792 4 Claims. (CI. 57-34) This invention relatesgenerally to an improved apparatus for and method of producing relaxedpackages of textured yarn in which the yarn is at least partiallyrelaxed when it is Wound to form the package. The improved apparatus andmethod are particularly directed to producing a relaxed package of falsetwisted stretch yarn wherein the yarn is false twisted and then overfedonto the take-up bobbin in a continuous operation.

It is the usual practice to maintain the yarn in tensioned conditionduring a false twisting operation and while the yarn is wound to formthe take-up package so that the latent crimp or curl which has beenheat-set in the yarn does not have an opportunity to develop. When thefalse twisted yarn is wound onto the take-up package under tension, thecrimp of the yarn is pulled out and if the yarn remains on the take-uppackage in this tensioned condition for a prolonged period of time, muchof the latent crimping characteristics of the false twisted yarn aretemporarily lost. Also, when the yarn is wound onto the take-up packageunder tension the innermost layers of yarn are subject to more tensionand compression than the outermost layers, making it impossible touniformly treat the tightly wound package of false twisted yarn, such asby steaming and subsequent dyeing. Further, when the tensioned yarn issubjected to heat during the steaming and/ or dyeing operations, acertain amount of the latent crimping characteristics of the yarn islost.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a main object of the present inventionto provide an improved apparatus for and method of producing falsetwisted yarn in which the yarn is wound onto the take-up package in apartially relaxed condition and wherein a large portion of the latentcrimp is developed so that the resulting relaxed package may beuniformly treated, such as by steaming and/ or dyeing.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide animproved apparatus for and method of producing a relaxed package offalse twisted yarn wherein a takeup collar is supported on one end ofthe take-up tube and the yarn is initially wound on the take-up collarand drawn through the false twist spindle at the proper speed byrotation of the collar, and then the yarn is transferred to'-the mainbody of the take-up tube as the feed rolls are put into action to drawthe yarn through the false twist spindle so that the false twisted yarnis then wound on the take-up tube at a slower rate than it is drawnthrough the false twist spindle and in at least a partially relaxedcondition.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection withthe accomanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is a somewhat schematicisometric view of one station of a false twisting machine of the typemanufactured by Leesona Corporation and known as their Model No.55 3,showing the yarn moving from the supply bobbin to the take-up tube, and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line 22in FIGURE 1, but omitting the tube supporting mandrel and illustratingthe manner in which the enlarged take-up collar is removably secured toone end of the take-up tube.

While only one false twisting station is shown in the 3,147,579 PatentedSept. 8, 1964 drawings, it is to be understood that this type falsetwisting machine is provided with false twisting stations closely spacedalong each side of the machine frame. The false twisted yarn fromalternate spindles is usually taken up on a lower deck, as shown in thedrawing, while the yarn from intervening spindles is taken up on anupper deck so that the false twist spindles may be closely spaced. Thethermoplastic yarn Y, such as multifilament nylon, is withdrawn from asupply bobbin 10 which is in turn suitably supported on a creel 11. Theyarn Y is drawn over a pair of guide rods 12 and 13, through a pigtailguide 14 and suitable tension disks 15 which are suitably supported on aplate 16.

The yarn Y is passed several times around a pair of lower feed rolls 17aand 17b and then upwardly and through a suitable slots in an elongatedheater plate 18. The lower feed roll 17a is provided with a drive gear20 which at times engages a gear 21 that is fixed on a drive shaft 22.The feed rolls 17a and 17b are rotatably supported in a conventionalbracket, not shown, which may be moved to separate the gears 20 and 21so that the feed rolls 17a and 1711 will rotate freely when the yarn Yis moved. When the bracket is moved to bring the gear 20 into engagementwith the drive gear 21, the feed roll 17a is driven to withdraw the yarnY from the supply bobbin 10 at a predetermined speed. a

As the yarn Y leaves the heater plate 18, it passes upwardly through aconventional false twisting spindle 24 which is suitably mounted forrotation in a pivotally supported bracket 25. The bracket 25 may beswung by the operator to cause the body of the spindle 24 to engage orto move out of engagement with a spindle driving belt 26.

From the false twist spindle 24, the yarn Y is passed several timesaround a pair of upper feed rolls 27a and 27b. The upper feed roll 27ais provided with a drive gear 28 which at times engages a drive gear 29that is fixed on a drive shaft 30. The upper feed rolls 27a and 27b arerotatably mounted in a conventional bracket, not shown, for swingingmovement whereby the gear 28 may be moved into and out of engagementwith the drive gear 29. After leaving the upper feed rolls 27a and 2712,the yarn passes up and over a guide roll 31 and then downwardly andengages an auxiliary yarn guide which is known as a transfer tailingwheel 32 which is fixed on a rotatable tailing shaft 33. The wheel 32 isspirally grooved and with slow rotation of the shaft 33, a yarn which isinitially placed in the groove at the right-hand side of the wheel 32will be moved to the left-hand side and after several rotations of thewheel 32, the yarn will be moved off of the wheel 32 and onto the shaft33.

The yarn Y extends from the wheel 32 and, in accordance with the presentinvention, is wound onto an enlarged annular take-up ring or collar 34.As shown in FIGURE 2, the enlarged take-up collar 34 is provided with aperipheral yarn receiving groove 35 and a bore 36 which frictionallyengages the outer periphery of one end of a take-up tube 37. The take-uptube 37 is supported on an expandable tube holder 38 that is supportedfor rotation on the upper end of a package holder arm 40, the lower endof which is pivotally supported on a rod 42. The upper end of thepackage holder arm 40 is normally urged in a counterclockwise directionin FIGURE 1 by conventional spring means, not shown,

so that the outer periphery of the take-up tube 37, or the outer surfaceof yarn wound thereon, is drivingly engaged by the surface of a corkroll 44 which is fixed on a drive 7 3 threading yarn guide which evenlydistributes the yarn Y on the take-up tube 37 as the bar 48 isreciprocated back and forth. The take-up tube 37 may be moved out ofengagement with the cork roll 44 by means of a lever 43 which isconnected at one end to the support arm 40.

All of the parts heretofore described except the enlarged take-up collar34 are conventional parts of a Model No. 553 false twisting machine. Inthis type machine, the upper and lower feed rolls control the speed thatthe yarn passes through the false twist spindle 24 and maintain uniformtension on the yarn as it passes therethrough. The speed of the corkroll 44 is usually coordinated with the speed of the feed rolls so thatthe yarn is wound on the take-up tube 37 under tension. In the presentinstance, the drive gears of this machine have been changed so that thespeed of the cork roll 44, relative to the speed of the feed rolls, isreduced and the yarn is overfed onto the take-up tube 37 by about 100 to125%. Thus, the false twisted yarn is wound onto the take-up tube 37 inat least partially relaxed condition.

To start the false twisting operation, the yarn is threaded in themanner shown in FIGURE 1, but the upper and lower feed rolls, the falsetwist spindle 24, and the take-up tube are each in an inactive position.The leading end of the yarn is wound around the take-up collar 34 andthe yarn is placed in the groove at the right-hand side of the auxiliaryguide or tailing wheel 32. Then, the take-up tube 37 is moved againstthe cork roll 44 to begin drawing the yarn through the system at arelatively fast speed, due to the large diameter of the take-up collar34. As the take-up tube 37 and the enlarged take-up collar 34 rotate,the yarn Y is withdrawn from the supply bobbin 10, around the freelyrotatable lower feed rolls 17a and 17b through the false twist spindle24, around the freely rotatable upper feed rolls 27a and 275, over thetailing wheel 32, and taken up on the take-up collar 34.

The operator than moves the false twist spindle 24 into drivingengagement with the drive belt 26 to begin rotating the same andapplying false twist to the yarn Y. Next, the operator swings the upperfeed rolls so that the gear engages the drive gear 29 and then swingsthe lower feed rolls so that the gear 20 engages the drive gear 21. Thespeed of the upper and lower feed rolls is coordinated to maintainuniform tension in the yarn between the feed rolls as the yarn is falsetwisted. It is preferred that the upper and lower feed rolls move theyarn at about-the same speed that the yarn is initially drawn throughthe system by the enlarged take-up collar 34. The yarn Y moves off ofthe tailing wheel 32 at about the time that the operator swings thelower feed rolls into driving engagement with the drive gear 21, so thatthe yarn Y is picked up by the traverse thread guide 47 as it reachesthe right-hand end of its stroke. The traverse thread guide 47 thendistributes the yarn on the medial portion of the take-up tube 37 tobuild up a relaxed package of false twisted yarn, as indicated indash-dot lines at 50 in FIGURE 2.

After the size of the take-up package has reached the desired diameter,the tube 37 is removed from the machine by reducing the diameter of themandrel 38 and then the take-up collar 34 may be pulled from the. end ofthe take-up tube 37. Since the yarn has been overfed onto the take-uptube, it is in a partially relaxed condition and a large percentage ofits crimp has been developed before it is wound. This developed crimpwill not be lost even though the yarn may be stored on the take-up tube37 for an extended period of time before it is further processed.

It is preferred that the take-up collar 34 be large enough to initiallydraw the yarn through the false twist spindle 24 fast enough that theyarn will not be overtwisted and break. In most instances, theconventional take-up tubes are formed of built-up layers of spirallywound paper strip material to form a wall thickness of approximately Vof an inch and an outside diameter of 3 and W inches. The take-up tube37 is normally 6 and /2 inches long and the take-up collar 34 is of aninch wide.

In order that the take-up collar 34 may be removably secured on one endof the take-up tube 37 by a pressed fit, the bore 36 is preferably thesame diameter as the outside diameter of the tube 37. If desired, thebore 36 may be slightly tapered to make it easier to press the collar 34on the end of the tube 37. It has been found that if the diameter of theyarn engaging periphery of the collar 34 is about one and one-half timesas large as the diameter of the take-up tube, the yarn will be initiallydrawn through the false twist spindle 24 at a sufficient speed. In thepresent instance, the diameter of the yarn engaging periphery of thecollar 34 is 5 inches, however, it is to be understood that this can bevaried, in accordance with different false twist spindle speeds, yarnsizes, variations in the feed roll speeds, etc.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the false twisted yarnis initially drawn through the system by the take-up collar 34 at arelatively fast rate to prevent breaking and over-twisting of the yarnby the false twist spindle 24 until the upper and lower feed rolls areput into operation. Also, the cork roll 44 is driven at a slower thannormal speed, relative to the speed of the false twist spindle 24 andthe upper and lower feed rolls, to allow the yarn to relax and at leasta portion of the latent crimps to develop in the yarn before it is woundonto the take-up tube 37 in partially relaxed condition.

It is preferred that alternate false twist spindles 24 of the machineare rotated in one direction to apply an 8 false twist while interveningfalse twist spindles are rotated in an opposite direction to apply a Zfalse twist to the yarn. While only one false twisting station of themachine is shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that adjacentfalse twist spindles can be rotated in opposite directions bypositioning the false twist spindles 24 on alternating sides of thespindle drive belt 26. If desired, the yarn from alternate stations canbe taken up on one deck and the yarn from intervening stations can betaken up on the other deck so that the S and Z yarns are taken up on thetubes of separate decks. The S and Z yarnsare then combined to produce abalanced yarn in a separate operation by winding one end of yarn from an8 false twist take-up tube 37 and one end of yarn from a Z twist take-uptube 37 onto a single take-up bobbin.

However, it is preferred that the alternating S and 2 false twistedyarns be taken up together on the same takeup tube 37 on the falsetwisting machine. This can be easily accomplished on the false twistingmachine by using only the lower deck of take-up tubes and guiding the Sand Z yarns from adjacent false twist spindles onto a single take-uptube.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for producing a relaxed package of textured yarn from asupply package of thermoplastic yarn, said apparatus comprising thecombination of (a) first driven feed roll means engaging the yarn andbeing movable between inactive and active positions, said first feedroll means being freely rotatable by the yarn when in said inactiveposition and being drivingly rotated when in said active position towithdraw the yarn from the supply package at a predetermined speed,

(b) second driven feed roll means engaging the yarn in spaced relationfrom said first feed roll means and being movable between inactive andactive positions, said second feed roll means being freely rotatable bythe yarn when in said inactive position and being 5 drivingly rotatedwhen in said active position at a predetermined speed corresponding withthe speed of said first feed roll means to maintain uniform tension inthe yarn between said first and second feed roll means,

() texturing means engaging the yarn between said first and second feedroll means and imparting latent crimping characteristics thereto,

(d) a yarn take-up tube supported for rotation and on which the texturedyarn is normally wound,

(e) drive means for rotating said take-up tube to take up the texturedyarn at a slower rate than it is fed thereto by said second feed rollmeans when in active position,

(7) main yarn guide means adjacent said take-up tube for evenlydistributing the yarn thereon during normal winding thereof,

(g) an enlarged yarn take-up collar mounted on one end of said take-uptube for rotation therewith and having a peripheral groove therein forreception of several initial windings of the yarn thereon for drawingthe yarn from the supply package and through said texturing means uponrotation of said take-up collar and before said first and second feedroll means are moved to active position, and

(h) auxiliary yarn guide means positioned adjacent said enlarged take-upcollar for initially guiding said yarn into the peripheral groovethereof for several revolutions of the take-up collar and for thenmoving the yarn into position to be received by said main yarn guidemeans for normal winding thereof on said take-up tube.

2. An apparatus for producing a relaxed package of false twisted yarnfrom a supply package of thermoplastic yarn, said apparatus comprisingthe combination of (a) first driven feed roll means engaging the yarnand being movable between inactive and active positions, said first feedroll means being freely rotatable by the yarn when in said inactiveposition and being drivingly rotated when in said active position towithdraw the yarn from the supply package at a predetermined speed,

(b) second driven feed roll means engaging the yarn in spaced relationfrom said first feed roll means and being movable between inactive andactive positions, said second feed roll means being freely rotatable bythe yarn when in said inactive position and being drivingly rotated whenin said active position at a predetermined speed corresponding with thespeed of said first feed roll means to maintain uniform tension in theyarn between said first and second feed roll means,

(0) a false twist spindle engaging the yarn between said first andsecond feed roll means,

(:1) heater means positioned between said first feed roll means and saidfalse twist spindle and providing a heated zone through which the yarnpasses and imparting latent crimping characteristics thereto,

(e) a yarn take-up tube supported for rotation and on which the falsetwisted yarn is normally wound,

(f) drive means for rotating said take-up tube to take up the falsetwisted yarn at a slower rate than it is fed thereto by said second feedroll means when in active position,

(g) main yarn guide means adjacent said take-up tube for evenlydistributing the yarn thereon during normal winding thereof,

(it) an enlarged yarn take-up collar mounted on one end of said take-uptube for rotation therewith and having a peripheral groove therein forreception of several initial windings of the yarn thereon for drawingthe yarn from the supply package and through said false twist spindleupon rotation of said takeup collar and before said first and secondfeed roll means are moved to active position, and

(i) auxiliary yarn guide means positioned adjacent said enlarged take-upcollar for initially guiding said yarn into the peripheral groovethereof for several revolutions of the take-up collar and for thenmoving the yarn into position to be received by said main yarn guidemeans for normal winding thereof on said takeup tube.

3. A method of starting up and operating a yarn texturing machine toproduce a relaxed package of yarn, the texturing machine having spacedapart first and second feed roll means engaging the yarn and beingmovable between inactive and active positions, a false twist spindleengaging the yarn between said first and second feed roll means, saidfalse twist spindle being movable between an inactive position and anactive position in which the spindle rotates at a predetermined speed,and heater means for imparting latent crimping characteristics to thefalse twisted yarn, said method comprising the steps of (a) pulling theyarn from a supply package and through the inactive false twist spindleat a predetermined speed while winding several convolutions of the yarnin unrelaxed condition with the feed roll means in inactive position,

(b) moving the false twist spindle to active position for impartinglatent crimping characteristics to the yarn,

(0) moving each of the feed roll means to active position to draw theyarn from the supply package and through the false twist spindle at saidpredetermined speed, and

(d) winding the false twisted yarn at a slower speed than the speed atwhich the yarn was initially drawn through the false twist spindle bythe first and second feed roll means wherein the false twisted yarn iswound onto the take-up tube in partially relaxed condition.

4. A method of producing a relaxed package of textured yarn comprisingthe steps of (a) initially drawing the yarn from a supply package at apredetermined speed while texturing the traveling yarn and while windingseveral convolutions of the textured yarn at the same speed and inunrelaxed condition, and

(b) then continuing to draw the yarn from the supply package andtexturing the same at said same speed while winding the textured yarn ata reduced speed and in partially relaxed condition to complete thewinding of the yarn package.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,898,054 Rea Aug. 4, 1959 2,968,909 Comer et al Jan. 24, 1961 3,003,715Seigle Oct. 10, 1961 3,035,397 Hammond et al May 22, 1962 3,094,761Dudzik June 25, 1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,209,777 France Sept. 21, 1959755,580 Great Britain Aug. 22, 1956

1. AN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A RELAXED PACKAGE OF TEXTURED YARN FROM ASUPPLY PACKAGE OF THERMOPLASTIC YARN, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING THECOMBINATION OF (A) FIRST DRIVEN FEED ROLL MEANS ENGAGING THE YARN ANDBEING MOVABLE BETWEEN INACTIVE AND ACTIVE POSITIONS, SAID FIRST FEEDROLL MEANS BEING FREELY ROTATABLE BY THE YARN WHEN IN SAID INACTIVEPOSITION AND BEING DRIVINGLY ROTATED WHEN IN SAID ACTIVE POSITION TOWITHDRAW THE YARN FROM THE SUPPLY PACKAGE AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED. (B)SECOND DRIVEN FEED ROLL MEANS ENGAGING THE YARN IN SPACED RELATION FROMSAID FIRST FEED ROLL MEANS AND BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN INACTIVE AND ACTIVEPOSITIONS, SAID SECOND FEED ROLL MEANS BEING FREELY ROTATABLE BY THEYARN WHEN IN SAID INACTIVE POSITION AND BEING DRIVINGLY ROTATED WHEN INSAID ACTIVE POSITION AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED CORRESPONDING WITH THESPEED OF SAID FIRST FEED ROLL MEANS TO MAINTAIN UNIFORM TENSION IN THEYARN BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND FEED ROLL MEANS, (C) TEXTURING MEANSENGAGING THE YARN BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND FEED ROLL MEANS ANDIMPARTING LATENT CRIMPING CHARACTERISTICS THERETO, (D) A YARN TAKE-UPTUBE SUPPORTED FOR ROTATION AND ON WHICH THE TEXTURED YARN IS NORMALLYWOUND, (E) DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID TAKE-UP TUBE TO TAKE UP THETEXTURED YARN AT A SLOWER RATE THAN IT IS FED THERETO BY SAID SECONDFEED ROLL MEANS WHEN IN ACTIVE POSITION, (F) MAIN YARN GUIDE MEANSADJACENT SAID TAKE-UP TUBE FOR EVENLY DISTRIBUTING THE YARN THEREONDURING NORMAL WINDING THEREOF, (G) AN ENLARGED YARN TAKE-UP COLLARMOUNTED ON ONE END OF SAID TAKE-UP TUBE FOR ROTATION THEREWITH ANDHAVING A PERIPHERAL GROOVE THEREIN FOR RECEPTION OF SEVERAL INITIALWINDINGS OF THE YARN THEREON FOR DRAWING THE YARN FROM THE SUPPLYPACKAGE AND THROUGH SAID TEXTURING MEANS UPON ROTATION OF SAID TAKE-UPCOLLAR AND BEFORE SAID FIRST AND SECOND FEED ROLL MEANS ARE MOVED TOACTIVE POSITION, AND (H) AUXILIARY YARN GUIDE MEANS POSITIONED ADJACENTSAID ENLARGED TAKE-UP COLLAR FOR INITIALLY GUIDING SAID YARN INTO THEPERIPHERAL GROOVE THEREOF FOR SEVERAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE TAKE-UP COLLARAND FOR THEN MOVING THE YARN INTO POSITION TO BE RECEIVED BY SAID MAINYARN GUIDE MEANS FOR NORMAL WINDING THEREOF ON SAID TAKE-UP TUBE.